We figured Brett Favre would pull a Favre before Kerry Collins did, but the Colts signed Collins out of retirement Tuesday because there are legitimate concerns that Manning won't be ready for the start of the regular season.

And anybody who watched Indianapolis in preseason is intimately familiar with the fact that, as interim replacements for Manning, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky provide the team with one thing: pole position in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Collins may be old, but he's the best option to bridge the gap and minimize the damage between now and whenever Manning can return.

Because this is the NFL, we again talk Tim Tebow, who now appears to be the Broncos' fourth-best quarterback. Will Brinson catches up with the only person on Earth yet to be asked about Tebow: Denver first-round pick, rookie linebacker Von Miller.

In Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio's head, there’s not a doubt who will start at quarterback for his squad when Jacksonville opens the regular season vs. the Titans. In his mind, there was really never any question.

Fair enough. But before Garrard gets comfortable, he should know this: Del Rio isn’t completely happy with the way he’s played thus far in the preseason (Garrard is 7 of 12 for 99 yards and an interception through two games, while Gabbert is 20 of 39 for 181 yards).

"We need more efficiency offensively and certainly the trigger man plays a large role in that," Del Rio said. "I think it all ties together. You know how I feel about it being a team game that we play and the timing of the routes with the receivers and the protection up front and the quarterback making good decisions delivering the ball. It all comes together and then you're able to do things offensively, where you're a beat off here or a beat off there and the play breaks down and when you have that timing it looks beautiful. So we're doing some things better and we've been in camp long enough.

"We have the same system, we have the same quarterback, we have the same players. We should expect to play at a higher level. I expect us to play at a higher level and now would be a good time."

Eventually, the person playing at a higher level will probably be Gabbert, a point made by CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco earlier this month when he tabbed him as a future top-10 quarterback.

Wrote Prisco: "I watched his tape in college, and Gabbert did some things that were unsettling. He felt phantom pressure at times. But you could always see the arm and the athletic ability. I liked Florida State's Christian Ponder more -- still do -- but Gabbert looked much better than I expected Thursday.

“I know it's only one practice, and it's not live contact, but he does things that you want from a quarterback. The coaches aren't publicly saying all that much about him, but they know. The scouts know. And you better believe general manager Gene Smith knows.”

For now, Del Rio doesn’t know. Or he will pretend he doesn’t know so Gabbert can continue improving or because he feels Garrard gives Del Rio a better chance of keeping his job after this season. But someday soon, when a reporter asks who the starter is, Del Rio will be saying (as if it’s been obvious the whole time), “Blaine’s our starter.”

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Gabbert says that the media's making too much of his reps, but anyone with any sense disagrees -- he wouldn't be taking all the snaps with the first team if he didn't have a good shot to start.

And, per our own Pete Prisco, the idea of Gabbert opening the season as the Jaguars starter isn't all that far-fetched.

"Everybody in Jax is getting on board with what I told you 13 days ago: Gabbert can start on opening day -- and might," Prisco tweeted. "If Gabbert plays well in next two preseason games, he starts opening day I think.

"Gabbert impressed a lot of Falcons people I talked to today. Kid has it."

That might not matter all that much when it comes to creating a depth chart in Jacksonville. Jack Del Rio's on the hot seat (stop me if you've heard that one) and making a run in a tough division with a talented rookie quarterback, even if the Jaguars fell short of making the playoffs, would go a long way towards him keeping his job.

Plus, if Gabbert and Garrard are reasonably comparable in terms of what they can produce right now when the season starts, there's really no reason not to go ahead and start preparing for the future.

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Well, we're a week into the preseason and that means we know everything about everyone. Or nothing at all. Whatever, we got our first glimpses of the NFL's newest rookie quarterbacks and that leads us to the question: What rookie quarterback will help his team the most?

Will Brinson: Go ahead and cue up about 15 "Panthers homer" comments in the next few paragraphs, but I don't care: Cam Newton. The guy's a freak-a-deak athlete with a firehose attached to his right shoulder and he's going to get a chance to produce. Unfortunately, that firehose thing can also be bad if Newton can't control his accuracy. And it's possible that Jimmy Clausen -- who looked better than terrible after he threw a pick six on his second passing attempt -- could be the safer option for Carolina. But Newton gets the fanbase amped and he's already shown exponential growth since we last saw him throwing passes. Putting him in the proverbial fire's the way to go and he'll be a difference maker for Carolina in both the stands and the field.

Josh Katzowitz: Will, I couldn't agree with you more. I don't know if Newton will help his team that much more on the field than Clausen would have -- I'm willing to bet heavily on the odds that there are going to be games when Newton is ABSOLUTELY terrible and people are going to be saying, "Yeah, buddy, the NFL is a little different than the limited offense you ran at Auburn, eh?" (these people, of course, will be Canadians who care way too much about SEC football) -- but as far as starpower is concerned, Newton is the one. I don't care if he privately looks at himself as an entertainer and an icon. He's got that huge smile and he's got that charisma, and eventually, the stink of whatever NCAA rules his dad might have violated will wash away.

That said, I don't think he's going to contend for any rookie of the year honors, because as the season goes along, defenses are going to begin to figure out Newton. Actually, I think the real answer to your question about which rookie will help his team the most will end up being Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco, assuming he stays healthy behind that poor offensive line. Alex Smith will continue to be Alex Smith, and midway through the season, Jim Harbaugh will call upon Kaepernick to replace Smith and win a few games for the 49ers. And I think he'll do it, especially in the NFC West, hastening Smith's departure (which, when you think about it, might be the single biggest reason how Kaepernick impacts the team). Newton will help his franchise the most, but Kaepernick will help his team the most.Ryan Wilson: We talked about it (at length, I might add) and Newton was impressive. I know, it's just one preseason game, but the guy's come a long way since February, the Auburn scandal, and the silly comments about being an entertainer and an icon.

And let's be honest, he's energized fans that had every reason to lose all hope and commit their energies to supporting NASCAR full time. That can't be understated. Winning is obviously the goal, but Panthers fans will find reasons for optimism if the Panthers can win five or six games. So in terms of therapeutic value for a downtrodden fan base, Newton is this season's most valuable QB.

But if we're talking about a QB who has a chance to play and help his team win enough games to battle for a playoff spot, I'm going with Christian Ponder. Partly because Myron Rolle thinks he's a genius, but also because Donovan McNabb has become a punchline in recent years. How long until he's yanked in favor of Ponder? Four weeks? Remember: this is the guy who not only lost his job to Rex Grossman last season, he was eventually demoted to third string behind John Beck, he of four career starts, all losses, all coming in 2007.

Brinson: Well, we're one full turn around the table and the only person we haven't talked about is the only guy who's virtually guaranteed to start Week 1: Andy Dalton.

So, um, yeaaaaaaah.

What does that say about the Bengals? (And why do I have the feeling Josh will try to defend them?) I guess it says either that "We don't respect Andy Dalton," "We forgot about Andy Dalton," or "Even if Andy Dalton was Peyton Manning, he wouldn't be saving the Bengals from certain doom in 2011."

Perhaps it's all three?

Wilson: I didn't mention Andy Dalton for the same reason I don't think about paying my mortgage every day: if I ignore it, it don't exist. It's a coping mechanism. In Dalton's case, it means I'm not constantly reminded of what the 2011 season inevitably holds for him: pain, misery, disappointment -- all words that have become synonymous with the Bengals in recent years.

(Just look what the madness did to even-keeled Carson Palmer -- it drove him right into retirement in what should be the prime of his career. Think about that for a minute. Things were so god-awful in Cincinnati that Palmer would rather sit around the house doing crosswords than get caught up in tiger-striped maelstrom for another season.)

While we shouldn't put too much stock in first-ever preseason performances, Dalton's got his introduction to big-boy football from, fittingly, Ndamukong Suh. And I feel that was just a preview of things to come in 2011 (for both Dalton and Suh). So, yeah, it's pretty easy to be down on Dalton, more because he's a victim of circumstance. Which is why I don't want to think about it.

Brinson: Thanks for the reminder on the mortgage payment, jerk. Speaking of which, if there's one thing that the Panthers, 49ers, Titans, Vikings, Jaguars and Bengals have in common it's that they mortgaged their future on the talents of the 2011 NFL Draft class. With that in mind, let's wrap up this puppy up by making a list -- how do you gents rank the rookies in terms of impact on the 2011 season? Here's mine. Don't copy it.

Wilson: No matter the list -- or the topic -- one thing is assured: Brinson will put Cam Newton at the top of it. Panthers fan solidarity and whatnot.

Back on Earth...

1. Christian Ponder (He'll be starting before the end of Sept.)2. Colin Kaepernick (See above)3. Blaine Gabbert (He'll be starting before Halloween)4. Cam Newton (The next Jimmy Clausen? JOKE. Clearly, he's the next Chris Weinke.)5. Andy Dalton (Must've been a serial killer in a previous life to get stuck with this fate.)6. Jake Locker (Should only play if Hasselbeck gets injured.)7. Ryan Mallett (Bill Belichick is a genius. That is all.)8. Terrelle Pryor (But he's a first-round pick!)

Katzowitz: Just in case, Will needs a reminder: Here's my takedown of Mike Brown and Marvin Lewis in that ridiculous news conference they called to announce that Lewis would return for another season, and here's what I wrote about the Bengals' lack of a practice bubble. I lived in Cincinnati for six years, but believe me when I say that I think the Bengals are an incompetent mess (though, personally, I think Mike Brown is a nice man).

My list (the correct one):

1. Colin Kaepernick (If Mike Singletary thought about replacing Alex Smith with David Carr (!) last season, Jim Harbaugh shouldn't have a problem replacing Smith with Kaepernick)2. Christian Ponder (Because he's better than Rex Grossman, and since Grossman is better than Donovan McNabb ...)3. Cam Newton (How disturbing would it be if Clausen actually won the starting job?)4. Andy Dalton (He still has Cedric Benson to lean on)5. Blaine Gabbert (I'm not sure he can beat out David Garrard, and I'm not sure Garrard will be bad enough this year to warrant starting Gabbert)6. Jake Locker (Locker will get tons of help from Hasselbeck)7. Ryan Mallett (He won't even beat out Brian Hoyer to be Brady's backup)8. Terrelle Pryor (I don't know, maybe, he could be an effective NFL TE?)

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In other words, the future, and measuring short- versus long-term goals is kind of up the air. So it'll be interesting to see how they handle free agency. According GM Gene Smith, getting their "own players" will take precedent. “Our own players will always be our first priority,” Smith said, per Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union. “I’ve said this before that it is our objective to get a long-term deal done with Marcedes.”

“All I can do is be optimistic about it,” Lewis told Ganguli in a recent phone interview. “I think both sides have an idea of where we want to go. I’m just going to continue to handle my side and let them take care of that. I’m hoping we can get it done and get me in camp.”

Lewis' situation is fascinating because the Jaguars have already gotten rid of one-time breakout wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker and are left with Mike Thomas shoring up their No. 1 receiver spot.

Making Lewis happy and getting him into camp on time is something that appears absolutely essential for Smith if he wants to ensure that the Jaguars have enough offensive potency to keep with the rest of the AFC South, especially if they're not planning on trolling for free agents between now and the start of the season.

After all, if David Garrard doesn't have any weapons, the Jags might struggle early and Blaine Gabbert might find himself under center sooner than anyone expects. Not having a safety net at tight end for their rookie is probably something the Jacksonville front office would like to avoid.

That's because Jack Del Rio's job hangs in the balance based on whether or not the Jaguars make the playoffs, which is based on whether or not Garrard can improve on his performance from the past few years.

If he can't, Gabbert could eventually see playing time. But Del Rio doesn't want that to happen.

"In a perfect world, I'd like to see him not have to play this year in terms of having time to develop," Del Rio told Dan Pompei of the National Football Post. "That doesn’t mean I would keep him on the bench if I thought he was the best option to win. Ideally he’s able to get that time to develop and really learn the game at this level. I'd love to see Garrard have a nice season, lead us into a playoff position, and then see if we can get hot.

"Things don't always happen the way you have them planned though."

No they don't. Especially when your schedule features the Jets, the Saints, the Steelers, the Ravens, the Titans and the Texansbefore the bye. (Even the easiest game on the schedule, Week 4 against the Panthers, is on the road and features a decent defense.)

That's not an easy stretch of games for any quarterback to play against, and it's entirely possible/likely that Garrard struggles through the first half of the season.

If he does, don't be surprised to see Gene Smith, Wayne Weaver and plenty of fans curious to see what the future of the franchise -- Gabbert -- actually looks like on the field.

If there is no new labor deal by July 15, the Bengals won’t hold their training camp in Georgetown, Ky. – the club’s regular preseason spot. Which means no more daily jaunts to the local Ruby Tuesday for players and scribes (to be fair, it IS a 30-second walk from the Fairfield Inn).

That's probably because the effect is obvious: Garrard is as good as gone at some point in the future. But what about 2011? Well, it seems like Garrard's handling the whole thing well, and sounds optimistic about the possibility of competition.

Also "just sports" -- when the team that paid you a lot of money and seemed to regret it decides to trade up and draft one of the top-two prospects available, there's a good chance that your options for competition over the long haul are pretty limited.

Such is the case with Garrard, who, by the way, is already 33. (I know, right?)

Gabbert stepping in and playing right away seems like a mistake, if only because the Jaguars are better served letting Garrard play his deal out and having Gabbert learn on the bench.

But don't forget that Jack Del Rio is in a bit of a tricky spot with the 2011 season -- he could see his job on the line/be out the door if the Jaguars don't make the playoffs.

Unless of course, he had a great excuse like "we had to play with a rookie quarterback" ... or something along those lines.